A leading gastroenterologist, academics and several professionals across various fields are among the Asian-origin achievers in the UK, named in the Queens annual Birthday Honours list released on the weekend.
The honours system recognises people who have made achievements in public life or committed themselves to serving and helping Britain. The Queen’s Birthday Honours are a way of acknowledging someone's achievements and rewarding people who have made a real difference to society.
The UK's Honours and Appointments Secretariat receive around 10,000 enquiries from members of the public each year, resulting in around 3,000 nominations for the honours every year. In addition to nominations from the public, government departments ask schools, hospitals, local authorities and similar organisations for suggestions of potential candidates. Here is the list of Asian recipients.
Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE)
Parveen June Kumar has been honoured with the prestigious Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for services to medicine and medical education. The 74-year-old Professor of Medicine and Education, Barts and the London School of Medicine, Queen Mary, University of London, is the co-editor and author of a revolutionary 1989 textbook, Kumar and Clarks Clinical Medicine, which is credited with improvements in the education of medical students, doctors and nurses in training both at home and abroad.
Order of the Companions of Honour
Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour
* Professor Mir Saeed Zahedi, OBE FREng - Technical Director, Chas A Blatchford & Sons. For Services to Engineering and Innovation
* Professor Alimuddin ZUMLA - Professor of infectious diseases and international health, University College London. For services to Public Health and Protection from Infectious disease.
Order of the British Empire
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
* Professor Ruth Annad - Lord Chancellor's Appointed Person. For services to Intellectual Property.
* Professor Aisha Kulwant Gill - Professor of Criminology, University of Roehampton. For services to tackling Forced marriage, honour crimes and violence against women.
* Shamit Saggar - Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor, Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, University of Essex. For Services to social science and public policy.
Order of the British Empire
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
* Sultan Ahmed Choudhury - CEO, Al Rayan Bank. For services to the UK Market for Islamic Finance
* Professor Belinda Jane Dewar - Professor of Practice Improvement, University of West of Scotland. For services to Nursing.
* Sital Singh Dhillon - Head of Law and Ciminology, Sheffield Hallam University. For services to higher education.
* Asif Abdul Haseeb - For services to racial equality, health and education in Scotland and Pakistan.
* Dr Kamaljit Kaur Hothi - Head of Colleague Volunteering and Group Fundraising, Lloydsd Banking Group. For services to diversity to the banking sector.
* Chandrakant Kataria - Group Chief Executive, East Midlands Housing Group. For Services to Housing in the East Midlands.
* Idris Khan - For services to art
* Dr Nikesh Kotecha - Chief Executive Officer, Morningside Pharmaceuticals. For services to entrepreneurship, innovation in pharmaceutical services.
* Dr Ramesh Dulichandbhai Mehta - President, British Association of Physicians of Indian origin. For services to NHS.
* Harinder Singh Pattar - Headteacher, the Heathland School, London. For services to education.
* Mohammad Shaheed Quraishi - Consultant Ear, Nose and Throat surgeon and director, ENT Masterclass, Doncaster and Bassetlaw hospitals. For services to the NHS and medical education.
* Nardeep Sharma - CEO, The Thrive Partnership Academy Trust, Executive Principal, Colne Community College and Philip Morant School and College, Essex. For services to education.
* Rakesh Sharma - Chief Executive, Ultra Electronics. For services to Defence Capability.
* Sandeep Singh Virdee - Founder and Director, Darbar Arts Culture and Heritage Trust. For services to the promotion of Indian musical heritage in the UK.
* Arvind Michael Kapur - Chairman, National Space Centre and Founder-Director, Signum Corporate Communications Ltd. For services to science, technology, business and enterprise.
Order of the British Empire
Members of the Order of The British Empire
* Saeeda Ali - Higher Executive officer, Ministry of Defence. For services to defence.
* Mohammad Ashfaq - Founder and Managing Director, Kikit Pathways to recovery Birmingham. For services to vulnerable people.
* Samera Jabeen Ashraf - For services to sport and diversity.
* Shazia Azhar - Member, Diverse Leaders Network. For services to education.
* Aqila Choudhry - For public and political services
* Pushpinder Chowdhry - For services to the Asian community in the UK
* Vilasgauri Ratilal Dhanani - For voluntary and charitable purposes
* Sahana Gero - For services to Music and the community in South London.
* Capt (Retd) Gaubahadur Gurung - Executive officer, Ministry of defence. For services in support of Service Personnel.
* Asif Hamid - Chief Executive Officer, The Contact Company and Chair, Wirral Chamber of Commerce. For services to Small and Medium Size Businesses.
* Imam Monawar Hussain - Tutor and Imam. For services to Interfaith Relations and community in Oxfordshire.
* Razia Ismail - Chair and founder, Aaghee. For services to Women in the Asian community in Birmingham.
* Mohamed Amin Issa - Senior lecturer, Ministry of Defence. For services to the Defence Centre for Languages and Culture.
* Abdul Jabbar - For political and public services.
* Surinder Singh Jandu - For services to community cohesion.
* Dr Nikita Kananai (Mrs Ferdinand) - General practioner and chief clinical officer, NHS Bexley Clinical Commissioning Group. For services to Primary Care.
* Dr Serbjit Kaur - Dentist, Leicestershire. For services to dentistry.
* Asif Amir Khan - For services to architecture.
* Dr Shah Noor Khan - For services to Muslim community and community cohesion.
* Vikas Kumar - For services to art and culture.
* Mohammed Ajman (Tommy) Miah - Chef and restauranteur. For services to the hospitality industry and charity.
* Majid Mukadam - Transplant surgeon, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham. For services to transplantation patients.
* Pritpal Singh Nagi, DL - For services to business and charity in Staffordshire.
* Nitin Palan - For services to interfaith relations
* Anjna Morarji Patel - Principal Officer, Road safety and parking, Sandwell Council. For services to the Parking profession.
* Bharti Rajput - Director, Sole Body Soul. For services to podiatry and economy in Dundee.
* Dr Khalid Rashed - Consultant in Stroke Services, Yeovil Hospital. For services to Stroke Care in Somerset.
* Asif Sadiq - For services to policing and community in London.
* Tejinder Kumar Sharma - For services to Hindi literature and to community cohesion in London.
* Dr Shobha Srivastava - For voluntary service to community cohesion in North East England.
* Tariq Zamir Usmani - Founding chair, Better Community Business Network. For services to community cohesion.
* Deepak Verma - For services to the Arts
Order of the British Empire
Medallist of the Order of the British Empire
* Ajaz Ahmed - Mentor, Mosaic Network and Council member/advisory board member, Huddersfield University. For services to young people.
* Noor Jahan Ali - Senior Buying Manager- World Foods, WM Morrison Supermarkets Plc. For services to diversity in the retail industry.
* Bula Chakravarty-AGBO - For services to the Arts within the community in South London.
* Uma Nalayini Fernandes - For voluntary service to community healthcare in Middlesex
* Suraj Khan Khandelwal - Chairman and Managing Director, S&A Drapers Ltd and SDL Secure Deposit Ltd. For services to Business and community in Leicester.
*Vinod Mathurdas Kotecha - For services to the Asian community in North London.
* Mohammed Tauqeer Malik - Councillor, Aberdeen City Council. For services to the community in Aberdeen.
* Iffet Anwar Mian - Founding member, All Pakistan Women's Association Birmingham Branch. For services to the community.
* Dr Sohail Munshi - General Practioner, Five Oaks Family Practice, North Manchester. For services to primary care.
* Mohinder Singh Sangha - Member. Board of Jathadars, Sikh Council, For services to the community in Leicester.
* Kandiah Sivayogaiswaran - For services to the Midlands Tamil Cultural Associaton and to young people in Birmingham.
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OBE for Dr Nik Kotecha
Morningside Pharmaceuticals Ltd. CEO, Dr Nik Kotecha has been awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list this weekend.
The OBE is for Nik’s services to entrepreneurship, innovation in pharmaceutical services and philanthropy.
Based in Loughborough, Leicestershire, Morningside Pharmaceuticals supplies an extensive range of MHRA licensed generic medicines into NHS Trusts, wholesalers and pharmacies. They have successfully worked in over 80 countries delivering pharmaceuticals, medical devices, hospital consumables and diagnostic tests.
Dr. Nik Kotecha was voted business person of the year in last year's Asian Achievers Awards.
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OBE for Dr Kamel Hothi
Dr Kamel Hothi, Head of Responsible Business Special Projects, Lloyds Banking Group has been recognised by the Queen in this year’s Birthday Honours list with an OBE for her service to Diversity in Banking.
Kamel migrated to Slough at the age of 6 from India with her family. Upon leaving school she found a job as a cashier at TSB (prior to the merger with Lloyds Bank) in Slough High St. She progressed up the career ladder becoming an assistant manager at Maidenhead and then went on to be their first Asian Bank Manager at Walton on Thames.
After managing several other branches, she became the Area Manager for Thames Valley covering 160 branches until the merger of TSB and Lloyds Bank when she was asked to support the merger and transferred to their head office in London. It was following the lack of diversity she witnessed in the City that influenced Kamel to speak up and take action. She was soon challenging views resulting in being invited to chair several committees and mentor individuals.
Kamel continued to work hard and break glass ceilings and now with 38 years’ banking experience she is recognised for being the architect behind the Asian Strategy across Lloyds Banking Group.
On the social agenda, post the riots, Kamel helped set up the Business Connector Programme with HRH Prince Charles’s charity as well as the School for Social Entrepreneurs programme to name a few. More recently she was asked to lead some amazing projects including the Lloyds Bank’s 250th anniversary campaign, Heading the Banks charities; 2013-14 Alzheimer Society, 2015-2016 BBC Children in Need and this year she helped on board Mental Health UK. Alongside this she has developed the skills volunteering strategy for 80,000 colleagues which is attracting the attention of the other corporates and the Cabinet office on the impact this is having on social agenda.
Finally, Kamel’s other passions is developing a level playing field and is a regular key note speaker on the subject. She helped found the bank’s Ethnic Minority Network and the mentoring programme which has been going strong for several years to help the Group understand the benefits of diversity in the workplace and with its customers from the top of the organisation down to front-line colleagues. Kamel designed and delivered her own cultural training courses to over 500 senior colleagues so to help them understand the Asian community and how they like doing business.
Her drive and enthusiasm to improve cultural understanding has resulted in Kamel supporting the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Report on Community Cohesion as well as chairing initiatives such as the Government’s Procurement Task Force, producing a report advising agencies on how they can use procurement to leverage race equality and help Small Minority Ethnic businesses grow.
In speaking about the recognition, Kamel Hothi says, “I am truly humbled to be honoured in such a profound way but feel this recognition is for my parents who survived the partition of India and Pakistan – the biggest migration of refugees and brought us here to the UK to build a better life. My father was a civil engineer in India but unfortunately in the 60’s his skills were not acknowledged. He did struggle with this biasness and refused for me to go onto further education believing there was no point and arranged my marriage at 19. It was these experiences that have driven me to improve and create a level playing field for all concerned. I just wished my parents were alive today to witness me receiving my OBE from the Queen so to prove that hard work is recognised regardless of your background.”
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MBE for Vilas Dhanani
The family of Stanmore resident Vilas Dhanani is delighted that Vilas has been nominated as a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the Queen’s Birthday 2017 Honours List for her incredible services to elderly immigrant women in the UK and women and children particularly in need in India. Vilas, who is 80 years old, has provided 40 years of inspirational leadership to thousands of elderly immigrant women in Northwest London and in India.
When she emigrated to the UK from Kenya in 1972, Vilas became aware of the problems faced by elderly Asian women immigrants. Many of these women did not speak English, were lonely and struggling to integrate. She decided to help, and set up informal groups for these women, explaining the transport system and how local councils work, and encouraging them to learn English. The group then formally became known as the Shravika Satsang Mandal organisation in 1974.
As the organisation grew to serve more than 100 women in the North London area, Vilas trained in yoga and reflexology so that she could do more to help women’s health. Once qualified, she set up training sessions and eventually trained more than 500 women as therapists themselves.
Vilas has raised more than £400,000 for charities over 40 years. Speaking about the honour Vilas said: “I am extremely honoured and excited to have been put forward as a MBE. I never imagined that the work I’ve done could come to this. I have always wanted to help women and children, particularly those in the most in need and in helpless situations. Happiness comes from being able to do something worthwhile.”
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MBE for Nitin Palan
Chairman of Golden Tours Foundation, Nitin Palan was awarded with an MBE for his work on inter faith relations.
Mr Palan is perhaps most well-known for being the co-founder of Diwali in London. The event which is a showpiece of religious festival is an annual diary event in the heart of London at Trafalgar Square. It not only attracts thousands of Hindus who celebrate Diwali, but attracts people from all nationalities who enjoy experiencing a faith festival with cultural openness.
“It is an incredible privilege for me to have been recognised for this honour,” stated Mr Palan who was delighted with the MBE and saw it as a symbol of hope for bringing about community relations.
“The work in interfaith relations is essential in the current times in order to progress the path to good community relations, peace and harmony,” he added.
Mr Palan is a dedicated follower of BAPS Swaminarayan and works tireless for its inter faith and social action area where thousands of BAPS volunteers worldwide work on a diverse range of project to aid local communities. He said: “It is also a special honour to serve all the communities with many selfless volunteers of BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir as well as the Diwali in London Committee work tirelessly with love and passion.”
“I hope and pray that the message of my Guru HH Pramukh Swami of ‘In the joy of others lies our own’ will continue to inspire me and my colleagues to help continue to serve the communities with more vigour and help view bring communities together. Above all I hope that it helps in making our Hindu faith and tradition relevant in today's world”.
The MBE is a wonderful accolade for Nitin, as he sees it as a further catalyst to continue the important work needed to be done to continue to bring about positive community relations in what is a critical time with so much turmoil going on in the world. Nitin Palan MBE still has a lot of work to do and he has no desire to stop – life goes on.
